At least some of the DY-100 ships were sleeper ships. In those a crew of at least 85 could be placed into suspended animation inside life support canisters prior to liftoff. The life support of the ship was turned off for the journey. The use of suspended animation was necessary up to approximately 2018, as it took years to travel from planet to planet in the solar system prior to that.

All of the DY-100 ships were probably not sleeper ships, as the crew of the Enterprise was surprised to discover the Botany Bay to be one. That contradicts a bit with the computer display of VOY: "Drone", where the image of the ship is specifically labelled "DY-100 Sleeper Ship" (though the graphic might specifically refer to the Botany Bay).

A model of the DY-100 class being held by Doug Drexler, who was among those who wanted the class in ENT

The art department of Star Trek: Enterprise tried to convince the producers of that series to include the DY-100 class in the show. However, the producers refused to do so, believing this class looked too similar to a pencil. [1]

The original version of "The Ultimate Computer" featured a DY-100 class Woden as a Federationfreighter. This appearance would indicate some of these ships were adapted into service by the Federation and remained in use at least as far as the 23rd century. Due to the retcon of the remastered version, it is impossible to determine if this was the case. Memory Alpha lists the Woden as an Antares-type starship, for the sole reason it was a more recent appearance from the production point-of view.

In Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, it is stated that DY-100 was the first mass-produced spaceship of Earth. This production began in 1996. There were cargo, fuel and passenger containers the ship could carry. In the standard configuration, it was used between Earth and Luna. In an uprated mode, it was able to take man to Mars. A journey to Mars, when the suspended animation was used, took 937 days. In the Spaceflight Chronology, timeline specifications are given of an SS Copernicus of the DY-100 class. It served from 1995 to 2020. Specifications were length 100 meters, weight 2.72 million kilograms, ship's complement 22, and chemical/fission propulsion. Only the overall shape is similar to the Botany Bay. The Copernicus is probably intended to be the prototype of the class. Unlike the Botany Bay, the Copernicus had a built-in engine pack of six chemical boosters for lift-off. There is a discrepancy with the text and graphics, as the graphics show only four boosters.

The DY-100 was designed by Matt Jefferies. In sketches, it was referred to as an "obsolete tramp space freighter" or an "antique space-freighter". In fact, Jefferies once stated, in 1968, "The Botany Bay was actually designed before the Enterprise. It was a little idea that popped up and was labeled 'antique space-freighter'. Later on, we made it look like something else – a vehicle from the early 2000s. (Inside Star Trek, issue 4, p. 4) One sketch also included the numbers 418 on the hull of the ship. Jefferies was pleased with the notion of modular shipping crates that could be automatically loaded and unloaded without requiring Humans to venture into space. In the sketches, Jefferies envisioned that three additional cargo containers could be attached to complete the middle section arrangement. In fact, judging from the actual model, it appears that even a second set of containers could be attached behind the first. (The Art of Star Trek) In the original script of TOS: "Space Seed", dated 26 October1966, this class was called "CZ-100" and almost perpetuated into the final script. [2] In effect, author James Blish, forced to work from non-final script drafts at the time, had to adhere to the "CZ-100" designation in a 1968 novelization of the episode, which he wrote, indicating that the class change had been a late decision.

The studio model of the DY-100 class, measuring 43×18 (aft section) inches, was mostly constructed out of wood, as was usual in that era, embellished with miscellaneous model kit parts and metal components. The leading edge of the "sail" (a naval term for the tower structure found on most submarines) features a corrugated metal foil and the engine pod includes metal "antennas" and masts. The model was not internally lighted and was finished in a brown/red-gray hue, though that finish was washed out into an overall gray on screen, due to bright lighting conditions in the studio and the use of the blue-screen filming technique causing light to bounce off the screen onto the model, an effect known as "blue spill". While not built by Jefferies, he did add the weathering on the model. Upon completion, the model was sent to Linwood G. Dunn's Film Effects of Hollywood, where the only footage of the model was shot, its one later appearance as the Woden in the original airing of TOS: "The Ultimate Computer" being stock footage of that shoot. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 11/12, pp. 70-71) In the 2006remastered version of the episode, the footage of the Woden was replaced by a newly constructed CGI model.

For the 2006 remastered version of TOS, a CGI variant of the model was used at CBS Digital, where digital animators worked with the model under the supervision of Niel Wray and David Rossi, for representation of the craft in its respective episode. The model was built by Finnish fan and digital modeler Petri Blomqvist, and was bought from him by CBS Television Studios for use in the series. Blomqvist's work was brought to the attention of Wray and Visual Effects Supervisor Michael Okuda by Technical Consultant Gary Kerr. The quality of his work was a compelling reason for the acquisition, as it saved valuable production time. Nevertheless, the digital animators still had their work cut out for them as Blomqvist's model was constructed in LightWave 3D software, whereas they used Autodesk Maya CGI software at the time, and had to translate the digital model from one format into the other, which inevitably led to some information loss. Additionally, they had to cut down on the resolution level of Blomqvist's highly detailed high-resolution model, in order to speed up computer rendering time. It, and the other models CBS bought from him for the project, has earned Blomqvist an official "Technical Consultant" credit. (Sci-fi & fantasy modeller, Vol. 26, pp. 49-50) Regarding the remastered version of the Botany Bay, according to Michael Okuda, "The top of the 'conning tower' now has a tiny circular docking port, very similar to those used on the real-life International Space Station. The docking port was added at the suggestion of a former NASA engineer who noted that a spacecraft built in 1996 would probably have included such equipment to dock at the station." [7](X)